Lousy Pottery Barn Rug!

[Oak]

My DW bought a pottery barn rug for the nursery and whenever I go in the room, all I can smell is chemicals. I hate it and I want it gone. I am wondering if it has any harmful stuff coming off of it as well. It is no longer "new" so it couldn't be just a "settling" period. It is awful, and to be honest, I don't have the best sense of smell and yet this thing repulses me to no end. How do I tactfully remove it? My idea is to buy a suitable, non PB rug to replace it and then sneak it in when she's breastfeeding in another room of the house, sleeping or something... Then I could distract her whenever she is in the room...
"Honey, look there is a cobweb in the corner... Up there!" Should I just let it go?

[almostmom]

Take a picture of the rug and sell it on craig's list, so she can't say it was a waste of money! Then buy one with less harmful stuff (they can help you with this at a rug store) and replace it. She'll understand!

[cmo]

Have you tried leaving it out in the sunshine for a day or two? That has really helped in several situations in our house, though none were a new item chemical smell. Hope you can find a happy resolution!

[ThreeofUs]

I have three suggestions:
1. Have the rug professionally cleaned. If there's something in the rug, they will get it out.
2. Talk to Pottery Barn. I bet they'd replace the rug.
3. Have a talk with DW and get that rug out of the house.

[MamaMolly]

Do you know what the rug is made of? If it is synthetic, then it could very likely be 'out gassing' and your DC may be better off with a different rug. If it is wool, it could be that it is a very...er...gamey sort of wool rug. It may not have been properly dyed, who knows.

I agree that a strong dose of sunshine and a call to Pottery Barn are in order. PB usually has great customer service. I'd hold off on cleaning it until you see what PB has to say. I would NOT recommend sneaking it out of the house. New mama hormones and moods can be hard to predict. A stinky rug could end up being the least of your problems! ;)

Good luck and let us know how the situation resolves.

[hellokitty]

I refuse to buy PB rugs, b/c they ALL have that smell. I am actually kind of relieved to see someone else who has noticed the nasty smell., b/c it seems weird to me that ppl seem so crazy about PB rugs. My mil and sil both have PB rugs and love them, but even after almost 10 yrs, the rugs still smell like that nauseating chemical smell. I feel sick when I got to mil's house b/c of her rug! Even my DH who is not usually that sensitive to scents can smell it too. My mil's entire first floor smells like the PB rug! I don't know how she can stand it, but then she uses a lot of those wall flower things from BBW(nasty too), but even with those, I can still smell the PB rugs, the smell can't be covered up. We had a very small PB throw rug many yrs ago and that is how I originally noticed the smell and then I noticed a pattern... every time I am around a PB rug, I notice that smell too. In fact, I can sniff a rug w/o looking at it and could probably tell you if it was a PB rug or not, lol.

If I were you, I'd just be honest with your DW. Tell her that you have noticed noxious fumes coming from the PB rug and are concerned about it affecting the health of the baby, your DW and yourself. I doubt she will blow you off or get angry, since you are not just trying to replace it for a silly reason, you have a very valid concern. You can call PB for a replacement, but I guarantee that if it is the same odor that I have always noticed, ALL PB rugs smell like that, even a replacement. If I were you I'd ask for a refund. We have HW floors in our house and I have bought many different brands orugs, and NEVER have I had an issue with any rug putting of any weird fumes like the PB ones do. Keep us updated on what happens.

[beachmoms]

I would not use the rug either. I would hope that if you spoke to your wife about your concerns that she would be on the same page as you, I would not want that smell in my sons room either. Pottery Barn customer service has been wonderful in the past for me. They monogrammed something in the wrong color thread on some shams I bought and I spoke to them about it, they told me to keep those shams and they also sent me completely brand new ones without the mongramming, which is what I wanted. Give them a try, it can't hurt.